State Superintendent’s Award for Educational Excellence
Contact
Matthew Frizzell
564-669-1359
The State Superintendent’s Award for Educational Excellence (SSAEE) is presented by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal to the 25 top-performing school districts in educational achievement in the previous school year and the 25 top-performing school districts in progress and improvement in educational achievement over the last three school years. The award expands on traditional measures of success and includes 11 measures that focus on educational opportunities and academic success. The SSAEE is aligned with the state’s Annual Snapshot on Student Opportunity and Outcomes.
The SSAEE was created by OSPI in 2026 after the U.S. Department of Education canceled the Blue Ribbon Schools Award program, which recognized schools across the country for educational progress and achievement. See our Frequently Asked Questions document for more information.
2026 Winning School Districts
Awardees for Academic Achievement
- Adna School District
- Anacortes School District
- Bainbridge Island School District
- Bellevue School District
- Camas School District
- Carbonado School District
- Cashmere School District
- Conway School District
- Dieringer School District
- Freeman School District
- Griffin School District
- Issaquah School District
- Lake Washington School District
- Liberty School District
- Mercer Island School District
- Northshore School District
- Oakesdale School District
- Peninsula School District
- Shoreline School District
- Snoqualmie Valley School District
- Steilacoom Hist. School District
- Sumner-Bonney Lake School District
- Tahoma School District
- University Place School District
- White River School District
Awardees for Academic Progress
- Adna School District
- Carbonado School District
- Chimacum School District
- Cle Elum-Roslyn School District
- College Place School District
- Columbia (Stevens) School District
- Finley School District
- Hood Canal School District
- Inchelium School District
- Kiona-Benton City School District
- Lind School District
- Mount Adams School District
- Nine Mile Falls School District
- Onalaska School District
- Pateros School District
- Rainier School District
- Raymond School District
- Riverside School District
- Ritzville School District
- Sedro-Woolley School District
- Steilacoom Hist. School District
- Sultan School District
- Toledo School District
- Wahkiakum School District
- White River School District
Award Selection Methodology
OSPI uses key measures of student opportunity and outcomes to award the SSAEE.
Student Opportunity Measures
- Regular Attendance
- Kindergarten Readiness
- Highly Capable Program Participation
- High School Level Math in 8th Grade
- Dual Credit Participation
- Including Career and Technical Education (CTE)
- Excluding CTE
Student Outcome Measures
School districts that offered at least one dual language program received recognition for the steps district and school leaders had taken to provide students with the opportunity to learn English alongside another language.
To identify the awardees, OSPI converts all the measures to the same scale so they can be compared. The agency then averages the combined scores and identifies school districts that have the highest positive value. Those districts received the SSAEE for educational achievement in the last year or progress in educational achievement over three years. For more information on award selection methodology, see the State Superintendent's Award for Educational Excellence Business Rules.